With every job or concept we go to shoot, our gear that we take with us is constantly changing. We take our full lighting setup for a day in the studio then we turnaround and pack a separate bag to go shoot in the mountains for that perfect sunset. The gear we take with us is on a constantly turning roundabout between our bags and kits.
One of the main reasons why I love photographing dogs outdoors is the challenge of creating beautiful backdrops from the natural surroundings. One of my favorite ways to photograph dogs on location is to use a wide-angle lens to allow the sky to be the dominant background feature.
Back in the good old days of film photography, contact sheets or proof sheets were one of the best ways to view results from black and white or color negative film shoots. Printed on photographic paper, these sheets were exposed in a darkroom by laying a roll of negative film typically cut up and placed in transparent sleeves.
I feel like I write a similar article every few months, but this whole theory I have about going and shooting is something that just continues to benefit me day after day. Of course it can be challenging to always go out and shoot or to always even just want to shoot.
I worry about becoming stagnant. I'm quite sure lots of us share that worry and conversely, most of us will know people who don't have that worry at all. I envy them in many ways; they want an easy life and concentrate on enjoying things. As far as I can tell, that sentiment isn't compatible with self-employment, or if it is, it's so far away on the horizon I can't make it out yet.
With no audio to worry about, and just around four minutes to fill, music video production is one of the most accessible ways for cinematographers and videographers to broaden their creative horizons and be paid.
For the last month, Fstoppers has been running a contest with our fellow friends SLR Lounge and Fundy. Last night during Fundy's world premiere of their documentary "The Power of the Print," we picked a random winner for the contest. This lucky winner will be receiving a brand new Sony a9 Mirrorless camera body.
We have all been there: you see an image online that gives you the best perspective of a location but you have no idea exactly where it is located. Sometimes the photographer lists the location on social media, but more often they leave you wondering where exactly they were standing. Last week I set out to film a time-lapse of one of the most photographed skylines in the world.
It's been a month or so since I started printing in the darkroom, and what a ride it has been! After going through tons of paper and chemicals, making a mountain of bad prints, and generally messing up in every way possible, I've managed to be able to make some decent prints. Here are a few of most important lessons I've learned so far in my darkroom adventure.
You can find them on just about any street in every city come trash day. Each one a unique piece of home decor. Once the centerpiece chosen to define our communal spaces, now an abandoned remnant of our disposable lives left curbside. I call it a couch, you may call it a davenport, chesterfield, or lounge.
Climbing is a sport that has existed for centuries, however, over the past few years it has started to skyrocket in popularity, rapidly becoming a mainstream activity. So much so that even the folks at the Olympics have noticed and added it to the docket as a new medal event in 2020.
It’s always important to stop and smell the photos – but what happens when your stop is at night, in complete darkness without any lights to help you out? You improvise. There are a few things you can do to help you compensate for lack of proper lighting equipment.
Sometimes the who, what, and how is surpassed by the when. Timing can be everything.
Some photographers are lucky enough to work large shoots that have directors or production managers who manage the logistics of the shoot, leaving the photographer free to focus on creating images but, often, photographers are running large scale shoots without the benefit of a production manager.
Are you doing enough to ensure that your story is shared beyond your years? Take a few extra steps to ensure that your family photos will be enjoyed by generations to come.
Now I know there have been countless articles posted about why retouching is important, or why it’s downright frowned upon. But imagine, as a photographer, being able to free up so much more time by outsourcing the editing to a trusted retoucher.
Last year, right around this time, Patrick and I booked a flight to Mexico to film Mike Kelley photographing the most expensive house ever sold in Playa Del Carmen. It certainly had the potential to be an incredible trip. The day before we were set to leave I decided to go out kiteboarding and I ended up breaking my tibia internally at my knee.
UPDATE: 3 Days left to enter! Yes, are giving away another camera to a lucky reader! Fstoppers has teamed up with our good friends at SLR Lounge and the album design firm Fundy for one of the most exciting contests of the year! On June 15th, one of our lucky readers will win a brand new Sony a9 mirrorless camera...
A video camera is a machine that has recording capabilities that captures images through an attached lens. Whether it's your phone, DSLR, film, or a digital cinema camera, that's the basic principle. But wait. You watch a behind-the-scenes footage of a movie and you see a gigantic monstrous camera that has lots of cables and gadgets.
It’s not a secret how much I feel the Mac OS is powerful, and most often underused.
There’s no question that the New York Times photo of James Comey during his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, where he detailed his uncomfortable and suspect dealings with President Donald Trump, is going to be one of the iconic ones of our time. There’s also no question about who overwhelmingly seems to dominate the photojournalism field based on this photo: white men.
Back in the day (not all that long ago, in fact), the only memory cards you would find in a “pro”-level camera were Compact Flash. That all changed as SD cards started to get faster and faster. Speeds up to 95 MB/s were great for emptying out the buffer on machine-gun mode and writing 1080p footage, which meant that space in the bodies could be used for other things. These cards were great.
Photographers tend to bemoan that everyone's seeming belief that they are a photo critic. Event though the vast majority of people aren't really experienced enough or aware enough of what makes a good photo to be taken seriously. This position is often weakened by the fact that even top photographers generally can't agree on what makes a great photo.
As a wedding photographer, we are always looking for new and interesting ways to add to our income. This usually comes in the form of photoshoots, prints, albums, and various types of upgrades, but most wedding photographers seem to be missing out on one of the easiest ways to make more money.
For the past few months I've been looking for a new laptop to edit videos on. As you probably know, I'm a Windows user, but because Apple just refreshed their MacBook Pro line two days ago, I decided to throw one into the mix as well. The results of my tests were both shocking and depressing.